Haunted Nostalgia
by IDespiseTragedy
Summary: Tajima Yuuichirou and Hanai Azusa were recalling the memory of their first intimacy in a haunted house. Need I say that this fic has yaoi smut content?
1. A Memory in the Rain

Title:** Haunted Nostalgia**

Disclaimer: _Ookiku Furikabutte_ is the property of Higuchi Asa; the majority of the onmyoudou spells are quoted verbatim from Mitsuru Yūki & Sakura Asagi's _Shounen Onmyouji_

Warning: multiple yaoi lemon scenes, but it still has a minimal plot

A/N: I'd be glad to receive corrections—spelling, grammar, punctuation or misinformation. This fanfic can be read as either a side story for "_Graduation Day at Nishiura High_" or as a standalone.

* * *

**CHAPTER I**

**A Memory in the Rain**

"Nghhh!"

The erotic sound came from the bedroom of a small apartment shared between third year university students of which door bore the placard containing two names: Hanai Azusa and Tajima Yuuichirou.

At that time, Tajima groaned as he ejaculated inside Hanai, his left hand hoisting his lover's leg, and his right hand interlacing fingers with his ex-captain. His legs became barriers that kept the slightly older man's thighs apart. They were doing the so-called 'spoon' position.

Hanai bit his lower lip, guarding, preventing moans from escaping his lips. There was nothing he could do to remove the blush that adorned his face, though. His hand—the one which was not occupied by Tajima's fingers—grasped the bed sheet in a desperate attempt to still the spasms inside. A futile effort. His body had already been on fire from his lover's first touch.

"You always keep your voice down while we were making love. I want to hear your sexy screams once in a while, you know." Tajima whispered to Hanai's nape.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's embarrassing; I'm not doing it!" Hanai rebuked his boyfriend.

"But Azusa, it's been six years since we first dated, why are you still getting embarrassed?" chuckled Tajima, "Well, although this side of you is really cute too."

"Shut up! And don't keep calling me 'Azusa' either; it's−"

"Embarrassing." Tajima finished Hanai's sentence, accompanied by one more thrust before retracting his member from his partner's butthole in circular motion. "Do you prefer me to call you '_a-na-ta_' or 'd-a-r-l-i-n-g' instead?"

"No!" panted Hanai, but his Tajima would not leave him alone. He left a trail of kisses on his lover's flank, starting from neck downwards.

"Hey, that tickles!" Hanai protested when Tajima reached his rib.

Nevertheless, Tajima focused more on that spot, he even added more fingers to tickle his bedmate.

"Stop it Tajima…ha…ha…ha…" Hanai struggled, but his boyfriend held him with both hands.

He only paused briefly to answer "I won't stop until you call me 'Yuuichirou'" and then continued his tongue and teeth ministrations.

After several more tickles, finally Hanai gave up. "OK, OK, Yuuichirou. There, happy?"

"Hmm, I wonder," replied Tajima in a pretentious puzzlement, "If I say no, will I hurt my beloved?"

"You sure demand a lot." Hanai spoke in softer tone this time. But that was not all; he also rolled, tackled his boyfriend to move underneath him and nibbled the latter on the earlobe. He nuzzled his head on the crook of Tajima's neck afterwards. Sleeping in Tajima's embrace had grown into an addiction to Hanai—not that his boyfriend minded anyway. Leaning on Tajima's bare chest, Hanai listened to the sound of their synchronizing breaths.

It was then thunder clapped in the sky.

Imagining the rain outside their curtained window, Tajima asked, "Remember Azusa, in a stormy day like this, six years ago, you rejected my feelings?"

Hanai found his cheeks suffused with heat, but he nodded.

"And we made love for the first time on the same day?"

Rather than delivering his answer verbally, Hanai interlaced his fingers with Tajima once more. His mind recalled the unforgettable memory.

###

Summer holiday came at last. With nothing else to do in particular, the fifteen-year-old Tajima visited Hanai's house everyday that Hanai's family even acknowledged him as "onii-chan's best friend." Today, however, Tajima arrived forty minutes earlier than his usual time and noticed the door swung open and Hanai burst out of it, trying to adjust his shoes while striding.

"Yo, Hanai, what's the hurry?"

'_Crap! I thought I could get away from him for a day at least! Why does he have to be so early, today of all times?' _With a troubled expression, the Nishiura baseball team captain answered, "I don't want to miss the bus; it only has hourly service."

"Where are you going?" Tajima asked, still as cheerful as always.

"My grandpa's house."

"Why don't you take your siblings with you, they're on holiday too, right?"

"They whined about the old man getting too talkative, the distance too far, bus sickness, a waste of time and other plans with their friends."

"Hmm," commented Tajima, "So in the family it's just you alone who misses your grandpa enough to visit him. You're a good family man, Hanai!"

'_It's not that I really miss him; I don't want to see you every day!'_ Tajima probably did not mean a thing when he mentioned about the good family man, but Hanai felt a sudden rushing heat on his cheeks and ears, fully knowing this had nothing to do with the summer sun.

"I know!" exclaimed Tajima, "I'll go with you. I'm not so coldhearted to let my best friend go alone."

"You don't need to. I'm fine on my own. And since when have you become my best friend?"

"No need to be shy. Everybody says so. Besides, we're practically together every day."

On and on they argued along the way to the bus stop. It was not until Tajima pointed, "Here comes the bus." that Hanai fully realized it had already been too late to shake his hyperactive teammate off his life that day. '_Stuck with Tajima again,'_ he sighed.

Naturally, Hanai wanted to sit separately from Tajima, but his insensitive teammate insisted otherwise. "Hanai, look, the mountain!" Tajima pointed excitedly at the window as the bus rolled by, passing the countryside.

"Yeah."

"Hanai, look, the sky!"

"Can't you see the sky from your own house?"

"Hanai, look, the trees!"

"Tajima, how old are you?"

"I was born in the same year as you were, but on October 16th, while you were on April 28th."

'_He even memorizes my birthday?' _"Whatever. I'm sleepy; quit nudging me!" With that, the captain pretended to sleep.

"Hold on, Hanai, how do we know we're supposed to get off?"

"I've already set my cell phone alarm to beep a hundred and seventy-five minutes from our departure; the journey should take a total of two hundred minutes," replied Hanai without bothering to open his eyes.

Tajima stopped talking now. A surge of guilt arose in Hanai's mind. What if he offended Tajima? '_No, Tajima is too thickheaded to regard such triviality as an offence,' _Hanai consoled himself inwardly. '_Besides, how can I keep an arm length from Tajima if I'm worried of hurting him in every single occasion?'_

Slowly Hanai drifted off to real slumber.

He opened his eyelids again at the none-too-gentle shake on his shoulder. Tajima was waking him up.

"What?"

"It's been nearly four hours since we hopped on the bus. I fell asleep myself, sorry."

Hanai checked his cell phone. He had previously forgotten that its silent mode was still on. Now it became no wonder that it had not beeped at the allotted time. It had indeed vibrated, but since it had been inside Hanai's backpack instead of pocket, he had failed to notice the vibration either.

"We'd better walk back." Thus, the two of them hopped off at the next stop.

"Hey Hanai, are you sure this is a good idea?" Tajima looked at the sky, which was gray with heavy clouds.

"Don't worry; I have an umbrella with me," assured the captain while making an indication towards his backpack. But then, the baldy felt sick; in his head emerged a visualization of Tajima and himself walking under the same umbrella for God knew how long…

Even so, Hanai did not have long enough to keep his imagination alive, for what he dreaded became a reality soon. The rain mercilessly poured down from the sky. Hanai gulped at the friction between Tajima's shoulder and his own. They were two adolescents sharing one 100-yen plastic umbrella; it was not unexpected that this shelter was too small for them.

'_Calm down Azusa! There was nothing to be nervous about; you shared your umbrella with Mihashi, Shinooka, Mizutani and Izumi too, didn't you?' _

'_But I did not feel nervous when I was with any of them… Why is it only with Tajima that I feel _this_ uncomfortable?'_

The cats-and-dogs rain kept tumbling down, but what made it worse was the forty-two-knot tropical storm that came with it. Unquestionably, the umbrella could not withstand the harsh weather and the two boys had to run to find the nearest refuge, which happened to be an old Japanese traditional style house.

"Hello, is anybody there?" Hanai half-shouted just outside the shouji sliding door, his voice drowned by the turbulence of the storm. This type of door was segmented into square grids and covered with white rice paper; hence, unsuitable for knocking.

"I doubt that anyone lives here," commented Tajima after scrutinizing his surroundings. Pieces of tiled roof and planks of wood were scattered here and there. Several cracks appeared on the walls. An old broom lay neglected on the yard. There was no dog plate, littering bag, or indeed anything else to indicate that this house was currently occupied.

Hanai slid the door open and, upon entering, spoke, "Pardon our intrusion."

Inside, they could only find broken furniture and very dusty _tatami_ floor. There was neither tap water nor electricity. No matter how they looked at it, this house had been empty for years.

The two boys settled themselves to sit in the nearest room. Since it was windowless, there was no sunlight to break out the darkness. Hanai tried to call his grandfather, informing the old man that he was going to be late. However, his cellphone displayed the 'no signal' sign.

Barely ten minutes passed, and yet, Tajima's stomach had begun to grumble.

"Here," offered Hanai, "I was going to have lunch at grandpa's house, so I didn't bring anything consumable apart from this chocolate bar and a bottle of water."

"Thanks Hanai, but you'd better keep those for yourself. I'm good."

"Don't be stupid! What sort of captain would let his team member starve?"

"I can't believe you still bring out this captain stuff outside the baseball field," remarked Tajima, his stomach rumbled once again.

"All right," Hanai replied, "I'll take half of it and you can have the other half. The same goes for the drink."

The freckled boy looked at his captain appreciatively before murmuring, "O.K. Thanks."

Thus, Hanai broke the chocolate bar into halves and handed one piece to Tajima.

Holding his share of food and drink, Tajima asked, "Did you hear something?"

Hanai squinted and stayed quiet. Then, seconds later, he started to hear some vague wailings. Hanai gulped. Forcing a smile on his sweat-dripping face, he answered, "That wasss just s-ss-some wind, right?"

Tajima shrugged. "Dunno. Sounds like wails to me."

"Stop it, Tajima!" Hanai's voice was alarmingly rising now and Tajima finally understood that his friend was trying to drop the subject all along. Never had he realized before that Hanai had a fear for supernatural things. The shelter they were currently in was spooky; the possibility that it was haunted was not _that_ low.

For a moment, Tajima seemed to seriously consider whether to tease his friend a bit more or to be sympathetic with him. Then, for the first time in his life, he noticed how stiff the captain's back could be. Hanai was even gripping his own trousers. Probably, the baldy went pale, as well, but Tajima could not see his teammate's color in the dark. The freckled boy took a breath slightly deeper than usual, "Have you listened to _SunSet Swish's _newest song?"

"Huh?" Hanai raised his brow, but then realized his friend's good intention to occupy his attention away from fright. "Oh, the one called '_Arigatou_'? Yeah, it's one of my favorites."

The gale outside sent the watering pot in the yard flying and it knocked the wall. The clamorous clunk of metal startled both boys, who stopped their conversation at once.

Following a moment of silence, a groan—a slight, but definite one—filled the air.

Both boys gulped. They told themself inwardly that it wasbroad daylight out there_—_well, rainy, but not nighttime anyway. Ghosts should only appear at nighttime, shouldn't they?

Casting a worried glance at his teammate, Tajima perceived that Hanai seemed to grow stiffer by the second. Tremor had found its way down every marrow in Hanai's bones. How the Nishiura captain wished he knew how to stop fear running below his skin, to prevent his blood from running cold, to block his nerves from wringing! But in this embalmed darkness, it became harder to ignore the shiver in his spine.

Tajima realized that no matter how afraid he was at the moment, Hanai suffered even greater fright. Hence, he spoke with the most casual tone he could muster, "Ah, sorry! That was my stomach. Don't worry about it since I'm going to eat the chocolate that you gave me."

"You've got a weird sound for a stomach rumble." Hanai's voice was quiet. Both boys knew Hanai did not buy Tajima's story, but thought it would be better for them to _make believe_ out of it. Tajima then tore the chocolate wrapper and began to munch. Hanai did the same.

Two minutes after both boys finished their food and drink, their ears caught the sound of breathing—the breathing that was not their own. Heavy. Ragged. Painful. Frightening. It was a sort of the laborious breathing when one was enduring agony.

Cold sweat broke from both boys' temples. They waited in disquieted state, both eager and anxious to know what would happen next.

Waited.

And waited.

The room was so quiet now that they could even hear the sound of water dropping from the tiled roof outside.

They waited still.

"Hanai." At last, Tajima's voice broke the dreadful silence of that old house.

His captain did not respond.

"Hanai! Hanai!" Tajima shook his friend by the shoulders, but Hanai uttered no word, his body trembling still, and his eyes widened with fear. Chill had descended upon his bones.

"Azusa, look at me!"

When he received no response still, Tajima decided to take the drastic measure. He tilted his captain's chin with one hand and held the latter's nape with the other before proceeding to press his lips onto his teammate's own.

Hanai woke up from the trance of his own fear at last, for a new horror had invaded him.

"WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU? ARE YOU POSSESSED?" even while yelling, Hanai trembled. How he wished he had his baseball bat with him at times like this.

"That's more like the Hanai I know of," smiled the carefree clean-up hitter.

"You didn't need to kiss me just to… to…" He could not continue. His first kiss had just been stolen from him. He was relieved that Tajima was not possessed, but the shock from his action was too overwhelming.

"I know. Sorry. Can't help it." He paused to draw a deep breath. "I've been in love with you for months now."

Hanai could not believe—no, he _did not want to believe_—such words finally came out from Tajima's mouth. His worst nightmare was coming true. He was petrified for a couple of seconds before eventually snapping, "Stop it Tajima! It's gross! I'm not a homo, OK!"

At any other day, Tajima would laugh and tease him, "What are you saying? Of course you're a homo. All humans are homo sapiens." Today, however, he offered a quiet smile to accompany his reply. "I thought you'd say that. That's why I tried not to tell you my feelings. That way, we could've stayed as friends and teammates."

"Why?" the captain finally managed to speak, his tongue heavy with guilt, "I thought you were straight. You even brought magazines of nude girls to school several times."

"I used to use those magazines to jerk off," he admitted, "but lately I can't anymore…not unless I pictured you in my mind."

"Forget what I asked you," Hanai got up hastily and withdrew onto one corner of the room, clearly repressing a sigh.

Tajima stayed where he was, but turned around and folded his legs so that he could rest his chin on both knees. Only his back was visible to Hanai.

The air grew colder—chilling enough to stir goosebumps on both boys' napes. They passed the minutes in silence. Not long after, however, Hanai thought he heard a sob. '_Crap, Tajima's crying! What should I do?'_

But the clean-up hitter turned to him instead and asked, "Hanai, you weren't crying just now, were you? The voice sounds different from yours."

"No, I thought that was you," answered the captain truthfully.

The sobbing continued even louder than before.

"T-tajima, y-you sssure you haven't learnt ventriloquism or something?"

"Hanai, even if I had, I wouldn't be able to speak with my mouth and stomach at the same time! Look, I'm talking to you right now and the sobbing hasn't ceased!" A tinge of anxiety colorized his voice; he was not dauntless himself.

Deep inside, Hanai knew Tajima was telling the truth. Nevertheless, the emergence of a sudden malodor now added worries to his mind, "B-but then who…?"

"It's me!" A disfigured figure appeared from the ceiling, hanging upside-down like a bat on a tree branch. She emitted a strange, otherworldly glow that permitted beholders to inspect every aspect of her, down to the last detail. Her kimono was red, though not any redder that the blood that kept dripping from many parts of her body. Her long disheveled hair cascaded freely, revealing the scarred face underneath it. Her complexion assumed the luridness of a cadaverous hue. One of her sockets was empty, and, judging from the slits around it, there was no doubt that sharp objects had been utilized to disgorge that eye. It was from her that the putrid odor, mixed with decay, came.

Hanai was too petrified to do anything, even as much as to move a muscle. On the other hand, Tajima, who was always better with reflexes, grabbed his hand in a flash, snatching him away and breaking into a run.

The next second, Hanai blinked, gasped and panted. Alongside Tajima, he fumbled toward the exit. The distance felt farther and farther… it was as though they had been running on a gigantic treadmill and that the exit door could retreat from them at will. What supposedly to be less than three meter run was more exhausting than two and a half kilometer run for their daily practice.

Upon reaching the shouji door at long last, they could only find themselves in a direr situation: The door could _not_ be opened. Both boys tried to slide, pull, push and even break the door, but it wouldn't budge still, as though being held custody by some invisible bolt.

"No use in doing that," sneered the ghost in red kimono, "I've sealed it with my power." She had been chasing them while keeping her feet on the ceiling, moving in a smooth glide.

"Dammit!" muttered Tajima.

The vengeful spirit's lacerated fingers were only inches away, encased in fetid rancidity… The two boys had no choice but to retreat from the hallway into the next room.

In there, however, another ghost had been waiting for them. He was a boy around their age, but wearing _shuou_ attire and _asagutsu_ shoes from the late Nara period, though without the _eboshi_ hat. Unlike the girl's ghost, this one emitted neither evil aura nor acrid fetor. In fact, apart from his semi-transparent apparition and mystique glow, everything else about him seemed normal. Unlike most ghosts who typically floated in the air due to the absence of legs, this one seemed to stand on the ground. No _hitodama_ or will-o'-wisp surrounded him.

Tajima and Hanai hesitated, but they had no choice. They couldn't turn back; the vengeful female ghost with grayish green veins bulging all over her exposed skin was less than two meters away from them.

The male ghost chanted _"Rin. Pyou. Tou. Sha. Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen" _while performing _kujikiri_ or Mudra of the Nine Cuts simultaneously. His finger gesture changed so fast from one mudra to another. At one point, his with all fingers interlocked inwards, with thumbs extended and together. After Hanai blinked, this ghost's left index finger was pointing up, with the fingers of the right hand curled around it, while the right thumb was pressed against the outside edge of the nail of the pointing finger. Before the next second lapsed, his hand gesture had changed, yet again, with every syllable he pronounced. These were all too fast for Hanai's eyes to follow each detail. Perhaps Tajima with his superior eyesight would be able to see them all.

Next, the ghost of the Nara boy delegated his hand to form a hexagram out of thin air, declaring, _"Akuryou taisan!_"

Much to Hanai and Tajima's surprise, the horrendous ghost of the girl in red kimono could not enter that room as a result.

The Nara boy chanted, "_On handomadara abogyajayani soro soro sowaka_!"

Now the _onryou_—ghost who returned to the physical world in order to seek vengeance—could not advance and she could not retreat either; completely confined in a barrier.

"How dare you do this to me, accursed _onmyouji_!"

But the Nara boy folded his hands with all fingers interlocked inwards and thumbs extended together while reciting another mantra, _"On hirota kisha nogajiba tai sowaka on chiri chi ibaro_."

He must be using that particular mantra to learn about her thoughts and feelings, for soon he said, "Poor soul, you were mistreated, tortured and killed. But the master who did all those heinous acts is no longer in this world. Even if you continued consuming the souls of the living, you wouldn't be able to meet him to have your revenge. On the contrary, if you leave this world behind, you will meet him in the netherworld."

Hesitation clouded the vengeful ghost's expression, but after a moment, it softened. "Will you deliver me to him?"

"Yes," he affirmed, "With pleasure."

Next, he folded both hands with the last two fingers extended into the shape of a "v", but the thumbs are extended, while the other fingers interlocking inwards. _"On jiretarashī taraji barata no oh sowaka."_

Harmony then swept over the female ghost. Her grim face became peaceful. Her pores no longer gushed blood and the blood that had been dripping were congealing. Even her hair was not as disheveled. Soon her body dispersed into ethereal molecules.

Only when her existence had completely disappeared did Tajima exhale in relief and remarked, "Thanks for saving us."

"You're welcome," the Nara ghost nodded.

Tajima spoke again, with more excited tone this time, "That was amazing. I thought one needed salt and holy water for exorcism, or _ofuda_—talisman bearing a deity's name—but you only used mantras."

"I myself am an insubstantial being. I cannot touch, let alone wield, earthly materials," replied the ghost.

"Are you a _goryou_?" asked Tajima again, now obsessed in interviewing a real ghost.

"No," smiled the Nara boy. "Nevertheless, I understand that you thought I was a vengeance ghost from the aristocratic class because of my raiment."

Hanai, who was still pale-faced, could not utter a word.

Tajima proceeded with more question, "So, what's the story? The idea of a ghost exorcising another ghost is unheard of."

"I am called Ashikaga no Masayuki by name. Back in the Nara period, I used to be an onmyouji, but I broke a taboo. It is part of the punishment that I ended up as a ghost."

"What taboo thing?" asked Tajima in pure curiosity.

"Tajima!" Hanai's pale complexion started to regain its color and he reproached his team member at once for asking such private question.

"It's all right," replied the ghost, "I was going to tell you anyway, since I need your help. But first, please have a seat."


	2. Two Pairs of Lovers

**CHAPTER II**

**Two Pairs of Lovers**

After Hanai and Tajima sat on the floor and Ashikaga floated a few inches above the floor before them, the spirit resumed his story, "As is with the case with most other onmyouji, I had a _shikigami_, but unlike the case with most other onmyouji, my guardian spirit and I have fallen in love with each other. Of course, a love between the quick and the dead has always been forbidden. Therefore, when my parents discovered our relationship, they sealed Teru, my shikigami, inside a mirror.

I tried all I could to free him, but my power alone was not enough. Hence, I slew a thousand demons, and took their spiritual energy as my own—another forbidden act. For seven years the thoughts of reuniting with Teru became the only thing that gave me the will to live on. I never used this power save for one occasion: Unsealing Teru. Of course, by slaying those demons, I had made a name of myself. I was sure that I could leave my parents' house and lived independently in a faraway land with Teru… but my parents would not let this happen. They had put a mantra which activated the moment anyone tried to free Teru. They became aware of my deed. Rather than live in shame if the news of their progeny was in a love relationship with a demon, they separated my soul from my body."

Both Tajima and Hanai held their breaths. Just how much pride was upheld by Ashikaga's family to make them choose to murder a family member?

At their horror-struck expression, the exorcist quickly added, "Well, it did end my corporeal life as a human, but it didn't kill my spirit."

"But since you became a spirit, wouldn't your parents just make it easier for you to…uh, continue your relationship with your guardian spirit?" Tajima inquired, driven by curiosity.

The Nara boy shook his head slowly, encumbered by a grave sadness. "They ensured such thing did not happen by putting a barrier that lasted for a millennium around Teru."

"Just how powerful were your parents?" Tajima blurted again.

"Such a strong barrier could not be formed by the power of one or two people alone," explained the ghost, "My parents told the Nara residents that Teru attempted to abduct me to the spirit world and made it sound as though he had lusted for me one-sidedly. Sympathizing with my parents, who had helped them through quite a number of exorcisms, the people of Nara agreed to help with prayer. It was the prayer of a thousand people that created a-thousand-year barrier.

I waited and waited until the thousand years were over. Last decade, Teru was free at last. Still, wandering spirits like us couldn't go to Nirvana before the thing that bound us to earth was settled."

Both schoolboys arched their brows at the ghost's words.

"Spirits," the Nara boy gazed at his own transparent hands, "have no tangible bodies to copulate."

Tajima seemed to grasp the matter fast. "So, basically what we need to do now is act as your containers so that you can go to heaven afterwards, right?"

Ashikaga nodded.

"YOU'RE FUCKING CRAZY!"

Hanai was not prone to swearing. He was, after all, a role model for his younger siblings at home and he carried this habit to school. But right now, something within him exploded. He didn't even care if "fuck" was not on the ancient spirit's vocabulary. How dare such ghost ask him to give up his virginity before he even knew the meaning of true love!

"I realize that I will cause you many…inconveniences. You have no obligation to help me. It was just…" Ashikaga didn't continue his sentence. Perhaps he couldn't. Hanai didn't care. Hanai didn't _want to_ care. He deliberately looked sideways, averting his eyes from the ghost.

"Hanai, he saved our lives." Tajima held Hanai by the shoulder.

"It's easy for you to say since—" Now it became Hanai's turn to have his sentence stopped midway. The scene of Tajima's earlier confession replayed in his mind, bringing blush onto his face; how could he speak the word aloud?!

"Without him, we wouldn't be speaking now." Tajima said again. "Look, it's inevitable if you think I'm taking advantage of this situation. In fact, I won't deny that I really am. But Hanai, if you hate me, I swear I won't touch you again in the future. Just this once, let's have sex. It's my once-of-a-lifetime wish. Please." As was common with the Japanese way of imploring, Tajima's palms were facing each other in front of his temple as he spoke these words. No sheepish grin adorned his face; only eagerness—eagerness which was flavored by embarrassment and anticipation.

Through gritted teeth, Hanai muttered "dammit!" as he punched the floor. After taking a deep breath, he cast one frustrated look at the ceiling before enunciating, "Fine! Hurry up and get on with it!"

Hanai refused to look at Tajima, but he guess as much that the clean-up hitter must be struggling to conceal his grin.

However, Ashikaga spoke again, "Since this will be your first time, I think maybe you'd better…uh…have the firsthand experience for yourselves."

For one split second, Tajima did think that Hania would yell, "YOU'RE TELLING ME TO HAVE SEX WITH THIS MANIAC BEFORE LETTING YOU AND YOUR PET DEMON USE OUR BODIES?! ARE YOU MAD?!"

Instead, what came out of his captain's mouth was a slow, post-contemplation answer of "That makes sense." Tajima's jaw dropped; honestly, he just didn't get Ashikaga and Hanai's way of thinking. But, oh well…

Tajima's heartbeats raced as Hania approached him, taking off his T-shirt as he walked. "Are you sure you want to do this, Hanai?"

His captain glanced around, clearly not wanting their first time in such a dirty, rickety house but settled with a piercing gaze and a sharp reply instead. "Don't make me regret spending my first time with you, Tajima."

Tajima gulped, but Hanai, who was still stripping, said again, "Now tell me what to do; you read more porn than I do."

Tajima gulped again. It wasn't like he had ever put all those theories into practice. "OK, um…why don't you just lie down for now?"

Tajima undressed himself as quickly as he could. He did not pray often. In fact, the only times he remembered praying after graduating from elementary school were the eves before the exams start and once when his grandfather almost died. Now it seemed to be the high time to invoke upon God again. His would-be-first sex was going to happen. With the partner of his own fancy. The boy of his dream. Hanai Azusa.

'_Jesus, Buddha, Amaterasu, Brahma, Yahweh, whoever else,_ _please, please let it be right!'_

The freckled boy then descended upon the taller boy's body. He didn't rest his weight onto him, but rather, use his arms to support him in push-up-like manner. His partner watched his every move, no less nervous than he was.

"Hanai, may I kiss you?"

"What's the use of asking at this point?!" The answer came accompanied by a vivid blush. "Just do it, dope!"

So he did.

Neither Tajima nor Hanai had ever guessed that their first kiss and first sex would happen on the same day, but there was no helping it now. To Hanai, Tajima's lips were a new sensation, too indescribable due to their foreignness. To Tajima, Hanai's lips were softer than he could hope for that he could hardly believe that these were the same lips that instruct the team in their daily practices and matches.

Only after minutes of tongue-to-tongue interaction did Tajima dare to lean on the body underneath him. His lower part was hardening thanks to their nude skin contact, but he was glad to know that he was not the only one with such situation: His teammate's erection was prodding in-between his thighs too.

As Tajima explored his body inch by inch with his kisses, Hanai could feel the muscles inside him contracting each time Tajima's lips touched his skin. Inasmuch as he did not want to admit it, his whole frame trembled under Tajima's weight. Twitching at his partner's every movement, Hanai held his breath.

"Relax your body, Hanai."

'_As if I could!'_ Hanai shut his eyes tight when Tajima's playful finger went down his diaphragm. He also clenched his jaw, refusing to open his lips for Tajima's perennial kisses. His eyes snapped open again, however, when Tajima tucked one of his thighs, caressing it along the way onto his crotch. Embarrassed by his own jerky motion, he tried to focus his vision on the ceiling, but Tajima's overshadowing figure blocked his sight. No matter where he looked, there was Tajima's face, Tajima's arm, Tajima's shoulder, Tajima's neck, Tajima's chest, Tajima's…

The mere thought of Tajima even deepened Hanai's blush now. He closed his eyes again in desperation to drive Tajima's visualization away from his mind. Nevertheless, this proved to be the biggest failure in his life: the more he struggled, the more stringent his impression on the Nishiura clean-up hitter became. If only he had known Tajima's touches would stir such maddening lust within him, he would have objected the foreplay!

Tajima played with his testicles teasingly, causing the captain to wiggle on his every touch, but this was, of course, not the end. Using one hand, Tajima stroked the length of Hanai's erection and with his other hand, Tajima inserted a finger into Hanai's pit, making the fifth batter gasp with an arched back. Hanai closed his legs on impulse, not taking into consideration that he would only sandwich Tajima's head by doing so. Of course, he parted those legs open again as soon as he realized this mistake, but what had already happened could not be undone.

If there was one thing that Hanai appreciated most about Tajima at the moment, that would be the fact that this jaunty clean-up hitter did not display his usual impish grin: Tajima did not mock him for being so naïve with mere touches; instead, he looked at him concernedly.

Hanai tried his best not to react too much; that would be unmanly—he was still the Nishiura baseball team captain! His endurance could only last so much as Tajima inserted his second finger, though. When the third finger was added, Hanai's grunt filled the otherwise silent room.

'_Damn!'_

Tajima shifted and worked his tongue to rim Hanai's butthole and his hands to tease Hanai's shaft. Within minutes, liquids trickled from Hanai and he thought he could die of chagrin.

"Stop!" he commanded the Nishiura clean-up hitter, grabbing him by the hair.

Tajima did stop, but something in his grin did not give Hanai peace of mind. Only seconds later, he was back into kneeling, tilting Hanai's both calves and plunging into the elevated hole. There, under the worn-out canopy of an old house, two crotches clashed and a virgin rod met a virgin hole.

That day, the fifteen-year-old Hanai learned: The pain of getting a tooth removed at the dentist or of falling from a bike was nothing compared to the pain of being penetrated.

Hanai winced. A part of Tajima slid inside him. He closed his eyes. The manhood intruded deeper. He clenched his jaws. Further still the penetration went. He took a sharp intake of breath. His ring of flesh was squeezing Tajima's member. He gritted his teeth. His partner paused. He opened his eyes. Tajima seemed so happy to be finally inside him, but worried about his discomfort at the same time.

Before Hanai realized it, his mouth enunciated, "I'm fine; go on!"

The very next second, Hanai half-regretted half-contented with his decision. The reason for the former, of course, was induced by the pain; whereas for the latter, was because Tajima looked relieved as he obliged at once. As the clean-up hitter made his initial move, a sharp intake of breath came out from the fifth batter once again. Inside his captain, Tajima's flesh became a piece of meat, while Hanai, his oven. Tajima knew Hanai wouldn't cling at him like a girl would, so he held him by the hand, interlacing his fingers.

The pain was one thing. However, apart from that, it was hot all over, and with Tajima enclosing him in, Hanai noticed that his saliva was waiting for spillage. '_Is this how it is supposed to feel to have the firsthand experience in sex?'_ Hanai wondered. He looked at the boy whose corporeal existence was above his own. He remembered Tajima's confession earlier on.

'_Tajima said, "I've been in love with you for months now,"_ _but…'_

The moment he met Tajima's intense gaze, a pricking sensation stung his eyes.

'_Dammit! I mustn't cry! I'm no girl! Besides, why should I cry for someone like Tajima? He's a dope…' _

'… _**A dope who was there for you in daily practices, who studied together with you, who shared the same tears and laughter after all those matches!'**_ Another inner voice reminded Hanai.

The tears were gathering at the corners of Hanai's eyes now, waiting in restraint to be spilled.

'… _**The one who loves you**__.'_

Tajima's movements accelerated and became more vigorous with each thrust.

'… _**Truly. Crazily. Sincerely.'**_

'_I mustn't cry! I mustn't cry!' I−_ Two warm streams flowed from Hanai's eyes and he, in shame, averted his face sideways with shut eyelids.

And yet, he could feel the racing heartbeats that were not his own coming closer. The sound of heavy panting became louder. A familiar weight was hanging over him even more than before. Tajima was kissing him.

Instinctively opening his eyes, Hanai saw Tajima's face glued to him. He gave him a reproachful look of "Leave me alone!", but Tajima being Tajima, would—predictably—disobey him in this matter. Hence, Hanai shook his head to shake Tajima away, and, for a couple of seconds, the Nishiura clean-up hitter and third baseman did lift his head. As a result, Hanai got a clear view of Tajima's expression. There was no 'I've won; you're my uke and you even cry' mockery in Tajima's eyes. If there were any word written in there, it would be no more than one: LOVE.

This sent a shiver inside Hanai. And when Tajima dived again for further kisses, Hanai responded to him, blushing. At any rate, Hanai was glad that Tajima twined their tongues. This way, his embarrassing gasps and moans could be suppressed. Tajima's onslaught down below was overwhelming, after all. His pace quickened; each itinerary was filled with enthusiasm to explore any deeper virginal spot yet to be discovered.

'_What is this sensation?'_

Hanai squirmed. More heat was wrapping him outside; more heat was stirring him inside. More tears escaped from his eyes. Something was surging inside him—something he was not quite sure what it was…except that it was rather enjoyable to him. Why what he initially felt as pain and shame now became pleasure and addiction? Did Tajima's eyes have hypnotic power or something?

But Tajima looked concernedly at his lover's tears. "Are you OK?"

"Don't worry…about…me."

"We can't have that." Tajima reduced his speed. Instead, he focused more on the accurate location of Hanai's prostate.

"Ahh!" A gasp tore from Hanai's mouth—cut short by the owner's abashed feelings, but remained irrevocable nevertheless. The inside of his stomach jolted. Never had he imagined before that a spasm would feel _this_ good. Closing his eyes, Hanai threw his head to the side again. He also tried to free his fingers from Tajima's interlacing ones, to use at least one of his hands to stifle his mouth from his very own slutty moan. However, Tajima's fingers were tightening on Hanai's instead, fighting the Nishiura captain's modesty restraint with his own physical restraint.

And, as Tajima was moving inside him, Hanai noticed two types of currents were flowing inside him. One was an urge to spurt his thick white bodily liquid, also known as 'seminal fluid;' the other was a feeling of elation he had never before encountered in life, also known as 'bliss.' His body trembled.

'_Isn't there any way to get rid of this feeling? Any way at all to be immune from Tajima?'_

"Stop it; you make go crazy!" It was a spontaneous remark, and Hanai had begun regretting of ever making such comment even before he finished enunciating those words.

"Then I'll drive you even crazier," smirked Tajima. With that, he plunged himself deeper, burying himself to the hilt inside his teammate's body.

Tajima's name broke out from its former prison—Hanai's lips—followed by Tajima's release inside Hanai. The baldy's eyes widened with surprise: he had not expected that ejaculation would create such an enormous tremor inside him. Panting laboriously, the two bodies' rigidity ebbed away.

"Hanai, I felt like melting when I was inside you."

'_Why does that idiot have to say it out loud?'_ The fifth hitter turned sideways, blushing even more. However, as soon as Tajima pulled away, Hanai began to miss the friction between their crotches. '_No, it can't be,'_ he told himself as he looked at their bodies, slick with sweat.

"Get off!" he half requested, half commanded.

There was a shred of reluctance in Tajima when he complied, but he made no fuss about his captain's bidding.

Hanai cast an impatient glance toward Ashikaga. He didn't need to voice his question; the ghost understood what he was trying to convey and cleared his throat. "Um, so…is it all right if we proceed with the possession?"

Tajima stole a glimpse at Hanai, who firmly answered yes, before mimicking the answer from his own mouth.

"You heard them, Teru." Ashikaga made an indication toward the left corner of the room. The next second, a filmy substance began to materialize. Gradually, the ethereal form solidified itself into the figure of another boy with a fox ears and tail. His eyes glowed golden against the darkness of the room. His long hair swayed like a horse's mane. He also wore the attire of Nara era, but, being a demon, his clothing was not restricted by the convention of style and color to indicate his rank of status.

"Whoa, how long you've been there?" blurted the freckled clean-up hitter.

"Seventeen years."

"And you just simply stood there watching us…us…" Hanai burst incredulously, but too chagrined to go on with his next word.

"My apologies," spoke Ashikaga, "Teru preferred not to have any contact with humans unless he had to."

Deep inside, Hanai knew he couldn't blame the demon. Humans, after all, were the cause for his separation with Ashikaga. Still, it did nothing to pacify his indignation of being watched during such intimacy.

Tajima's curiosity, on the other hand, beat his embarrassment and outrage. He asked, "If you were there all along, why couldn't you have sex with Ashikaga-san years ago? Surely other humans came here before us in the last seventeen years? Why didn't you borrow their bodies?"

"We would have, if we could," replied Ashikaga, "Believe me, we tried."

"But those humans had no compatibility whatsoever with us." Teru, the fox spirit, continued the sentence for him.

"Compatibility?" Tajima arched his brow.

The exorcist explained, "There ought to be a minimum degree of some compatibility for body possession. The two of you happen to be the most compatible hosts we've met so far."

Tajima looked at the ghosts in awe. It must have been a wonder to him that these ghosts needed centuries to find hosts. But Hanai was not amused.

The Nishiura captain swept a quick glance across the room. He had lost his virginity in this cramped, dusty place; what harm would it do to him if he were to perform his second intercourse there? "Just get on with it. The sooner it ends, the better." He inhaled. "For _all_ of us."

The exorcist glanced at the two schoolboys apologetically, obviously feeling guilty for imposing his need upon them. The fox demon spirit seemed he was trying to be neutral: he couldn't get rid of his reluctance to get involved with humans, but at the same time, he couldn't pretend that he had no _need_ for these teenage boys.

"Right," Tajima chirped, "What do we need to do?"

Ashikaga answered him with a grateful tone, as though this question had been his savior. Perhaps it really was. "Relax your mind. Keep it as empty as possible. In fact, it'll be easier if you close your eyes."

So they did.

Something rather cold, though it wouldn't fit into the description of "uncomfortable," entered their bodies. There was no wound, no pricking pain, no single drop of blood was shed, and yet something intangible, ethereal each found their way into their flesh. Both boys felt their hearts hammering and their napes trickling with cold sweat. Tajima opened his eyes just two seconds earlier than Hanai, and the moment they exchanged glances, the same desire swelled up in their two chests.

To Tajima, who knew he loved Hanai all along, this hardly mattered. Hanai, however, found this new sensation not only embarrassing, but also worrisome. What had the ghost had done to make him yearn for nothing in the world but the very boy before him? Then, he saw it. He did not know how. He just saw the Nara exorcist occupying a corner in his body. _Is this Ashikaga's feeling for that fox spirit?_ He wondered. _Am I feeling it because he is using my body?_

Tajima crept closer to Hanai. The freckled boy cornered him to the wall and extended both arms to flank his head. The Nishiura captain had seen this as a typical move for a-kiss-while-leaning-against-the-wall in the movies, and what happened to him today was no exception. Tajima's lips—Hanai hated to admit—were warm and demanding, hungry and satisfying at the same time. Or, in shorter word, sensuous.

The rainy weather made the air a bit too chilly for their naked selves, but there was no turning back. Tajima slid his tongue down Hanai's torso, his eyes looking up to meet the taller boy's gaze. Tajima's arms confined him in a small space with very limited room to move. But strangely enough, either those eyes or those arms, if not both, had possessed Hanai with a sudden obsession to be confined in that little space forever and touch as many parts of Tajima's body as possible.

Hanai did not understand. He just didn't. His lower half was still aching from the first copulation in his life—ever—which had just been completed minutes before, and yet what was this surging desire to … repeat? Why must Tajima's whole being made him crave for it? Wasn't Tajima a mere normal boy who loved baseball, just like himself? '_That must be Ashikaga's feeling,'_ he reminded himself. It was easier to put the blame on someone else. It always was—regardless of how much or how little the truth resided within the matter.

Still, the schoolboy could not help but wonder why he still had so much freedom to move himself. He had always thought—from watching the movies—that the ghost was supposedly taking a full control while possessing his body. He was spared of further thinking by the lap of Tajima's slick tongue.

"Nngh!" The fifth batter grunted as the clean-up hitter nibbled one of his nipples.

"Say, Hanai, you like it when I do this, don't you?" A smug smirk.

'_Bastard!'_ "Shut up!" his captain replied crossly, "Or that would be the last time you do it."

The smirk still hadn't left Tajima's face; in fact, it became smugger and smugger. But he did keep his mouth shut. In compensation, he yanked one of Hanai's legs. "Wanna try riding me?"

Even though Hanai did not answer, he did nothing to oppose Tajima's action as the latter positioned himself to cushion the baldy's thighs with his own. Slowly, the freckled boy made his way entering the hole that was no longer unfamiliar to him. His captain held his breath and, after an obvious bulge of his eye sockets, shut the lids abruptly. He could tell that the fifth batter had prepared himself for the intrusion but still couldn't cope well with the pain. The seme dared not move until the uke breathed again.

Seeing Hanai's diaphragm inflating and deflating, Tajima slid deeper inside. For one split second, Hanai did think that the wall his back was pressing also leaned back, along with his body movement, on Tajima's lunge. In such state, there was nothing he could do to stop his mouth from betraying him: he gasped, or perhaps grunted—he couldn't tell. The air was all too hot for him to distinguish even his own voice; the color of scarlet reigned over his face up to both ears.

'_I'm not gay._ _I'm not gay._ _I'm not gay._ _I'm not gay._ _I'm not gay._ _I'm not gay._ _But…what's up with this desire to kiss Tajima's collarbones? NO, that must be Ashikaga who feels that way for Teru. That's not me, definitely _not_ me,' _he repeated.

"Hey, looks like the whole thing is in." Tajima's clear voice dispelled his thought.

Face contorting with pain, Hanai rebuked his partner, panting heavily, "Stop saying such thing out loud, you idiot! Have you no shame?!"

"My bad," Tajima answered casually before planting a trail of kisses on his uke's neck. He continued going in and out, but he added variations to his movements, such as wiggling his hips in circular motions every now and then, making Hanai feel a drill of flesh tunneling his inside, and he couldn't help digging his fingers onto Tajima's back for that reason.

It did not take long for the spiky-haired boy to find the accurate location of his teammate's prostate. It felt too good…Hanai couldn't stand it any longer! This wasn't right: he was a boy himself and he knew he shouldn't surrender to ecstasy when another boy was screwing him. And yet… semen was leaking from him; his head even lolled back. Tajima was quick to follow—both above and below. Mouth on his partner's neck in a teasing nibble and hands pressed against the uke's back to bring the body to meet his own, Tajima released his load once again inside Hanai.

"Aaahhhh!"

With Tajima's pulse still beating inside Hanai, and seminal fluid dribbling down their crotches, the brains of the living were flooded with the ghosts' memory:

As was typical with the style of aristocratic mansions in the mid-Tenth century Nara, the Ashikaga's residence was built in _shinden-zukuri_ style. Erected symmetrically on a plot of ground of one _chou_ or approximately 120 meters square, of which boundaries were enclosed by mud walls, _tsuiji,_ with undeveloped space between the buildings, the _shinden_ or main building was on the central north-south axis and faced south on an open courtyard. On the south side of this courtyard there was a large pond which had islets and bridges combined with mountain-shaped decorations, trees, and rocks. The peaches were in bloom, and their sweet scent blissfully filled the air.

It was from one of these peach trees that Teru, the fox spirit, was watching over the sleeping young boy, who was sleeping in the _nurigome _bedroom. Teru performed this habit on regular basis. He had felt indebted to this boy since childhood, when the little human boy, unknowingly, saved him from a predatory spirit. Ever since, he had befriended the boy, and, knowing that the boy was an onmyouji-in-training, he trained himself to be competent enough for becoming the boy's _shikigami_ or guardian spirit. As the years went by and adulthood was peeping on the threshold, their friendship blossomed into love.

One day, carrying Ashikaga in his arms, Teru flew onto one of tree branches that was firm enough for them both to stand on. There, after making the boy stand with back against the tree trunk, he began his onslaught of kisses.

"Te—" The human boy struggled at first. He was not, however, in any manner difficult to tackle: in addition to the fact that humans were generally weaker than demons, his struggle was half-hearted. A part of him took delight in this development and that was clearly reflected in the gleam of his eyes, the movements of his fingers, the gesture of his body, but most of all, the eagerness of his lips.

With a wave of his hand, Teru dismissed the boy's clothes and those of his own. Colorful fabrics flew through the air and hung themselves tidily on a designated tree branch. At the sight of the demon's naked body the human spoke of no further forbiddance, too mesmerized by the beauty of such fair skin. He could not resist when his best friend tilted his chin and joined their lips in a slow, teasing kiss.

The kiss trailed downwards: Teru made sure he did not leave any of his master's erogenous zones untouched. Ashikaga closed his eyes in euphoria as the fox demon's tender lips explored his torso. Oblivion enshrouded them both with its thick cloak. Moral, rules, religion, the manor and its residents—all things, mundane and sublime alike—were worlds behind.

Ashikaga shivered when the tip of Teru's sharp nails lightly grazed his nipples, but he shivered even more when the tip of Teru's delicate tongue lightly brushed his manhood. The sensation was odd; he wanted to scream and cry, though he did not know the reason for such irrational behavior. Worse still, the scream and cry was not for Teru to stop his actions, but rather, to implore, or even to command this shikigami to perform more and more and more until the both of them were spent.

"Hhhaa…it feels weird…nnnhh!" was all the boy managed to articulate. He was unsure what sounds escape from his mouth afterwards. His mind, his body, all parts of him had been sinking too deep in river of pleasure.

Something was leaking down there, against his will, yet there was nothing he could do about it. Never before had his member become as erect and as hard as it was now, proudly facing upwards whilst wrapped inside the warmth of his partner's mouth. Ashikaga felt his left leg being lifted and, when he looked down, found it rested on Teru's shoulder. Nonetheless, this was not all the view he received. With this wider access, the fox demon's tongue now travelled to the neighboring area.

A gasp from Ashikaga's mouth, immediately followed by a grasp on Teru's long silvery hair took place as soon as the demon reached the boy's anal aperture. Abashed, the human boy bit his lower lip to prevent further lewd sound. His toes were curling at the friction between his lover's nose and his crotch. His hips would not stay still; how could they, when Teru's tongue invasions were so relentlessly delicious? Two minutes was all it took to bring Ashikaga down; his knees gave away, flooded by such indulgence.

Mirth darted into the shikigami's soul. His purpose of living was right here before him, in the form of a human boy. Patiently, lovingly, Teru helped his partner to stand up. Just when the human thanked him, nevertheless, the demon pushed his lover onto another tree branch, stomach leaning on it. Then, spreading the cheeks of Ashikaga's bottom, he made his entry from behind.

The abrupt pain released the boy from the state of oblivion. His eyes bulged for a couple of freezing seconds before his mouth managed to utter "Nnn-no! Ahh!" But Teru tilted Ashikaga by the diaphragm and by one leg, impervious to his reproaches of "This is wrong! Aah!"

Ashikaga shut his eyes tightly. Still, tears permeated through the corners of his eyes. The pain of the first consummation was deluging for such a young boy.

Teru, whose diaphragm was directly above Ashikaga's back, spoke no word of consolation. He breathed close to the boy's nape with eyes nearly closed himself, savoring each sensation that his lover's body offered.

"Aah!"

Ashikaga quivered. The pain was one thing, but apart from that, there was something else—something totally unfamiliar to him. The foreign commotion inside his body kept urging him to emit strange noises; it did not take long for him to surrender to his own carnal need.

As some white liquid forced its way out of the boy's body, strength abandoned him too. He slumped onto the tree trunk beneath him. His partner, however, refused to give up so soon. Both hands on the tree trunk, the demon buried a part of him even deeper inside the boy.

"Aahhh!"

Teru kissed Ashikaga's shoulder, letting his hands slid down his young lover's back to caress it perennially. His middle was securely connected to the boy's, and he could glide in and out with ease now that the tunnel had become as wet as a canal. With each squelching sound, Ashikaga's cheeks grew redder, rivaling, if not surpassing, the vermilion _torii_ gate on the neighboring shrine.

'_But we are different entities. But this is against the law of nature. But my family will be disgraced. But your clan will disown you. But we will be severely punished. But…'_ There were multitudes of "but"s for Ahikaga to list, but all of them were dispelled by a single utterance from Teru's mouth.

"Masayuki, I love you." With that, the demon tilted the human's torso until the both of them were standing.

Oblivion once again paralyzed the boy while the demon's hands were travelling downwards, lightly teasing Ashikaga's torso as they went. Then, both were sensuously stroking the boy's inner thighs. The final destination, however, was none other than the most sensitive spot of any male body. The human's back arched, accompanied by a gasp, as soon as those deft demonic fingers stoke the length of his column. Smirking, the demon left the nearly re-erected flesh.

For now.

The demon's deft fingers proceeded to the human's twin balls, earning their owner's vehement gasps.

"Te-aah! …" the boy grabbed the demon's forearm, "no…"

The more he resisted, the more his partner was turned on.

"Noooo! If you touch them like that…"

It was too late. The flesh was hardening again. Its owner could only close his face with both hands in chagrin.

But his ardent lover caught his wrists with one hand, bringing them away from the flushed face. Next, the demon nibbled the boy's earlobe and what was going to be a protest of "don't!" transformed into another "aah!"

The demon plunged deeper, yanking one of Ashikaga's legs for a wider access.

"Hnn!" Ashikaga bit his lip. The sensation was too good; he did not want his partner to stop because of his groans. He did not, nevertheless, put into consideration that the fact that he was embracing the tree trunk very strongly now showed his pain anyway.

The demon withdrew from his human lover. Much though his heart wavered at the sight of his naked lover leaning to the tree with all those curvatures, he did not wish to see his beloved in agony. "Masayuki, look at me."

After the boy swerved to meet his lover face-to-face, the demon said again, "I'm sorry I've caused you so much pain. From now on, share the pain with me; hold on to me, not the tree."

Teru stifled Ashikaga's mouth with a kiss, giving him no chance whether to consent or to disapprove. The kiss was followed by another kiss, and then another, and another. As their tongues wrestled and their saliva fused, Ashikaga subconsciously clung onto his lover's body.

Teru made his entry once again, and this time, Ashikaga parted his legs wider to greet his seme, eventually encircling them around Teru's lower back with ankles pressing the demon's buttocks. Their movements shook the tree so vigorously that many leaves were falling around them. Amidst the verdure, their undulating breaths were racing. Amongst the glimmering sunlight, their continuous gasps were comforting each other. In that little patch of haven, their two hearts were beating as one.

###

Hanai snapped back to his present, cheeks all flushed. So was Tajima. That was such an erotic scene for a first time experience…undoubtedly better than their own—no, no, no, no, no, no, no! What the heck was he thinking! Tajima, on the other hand, seemed as though he up for the challenge.

But at this point, an odd sensation broke out from the inside. Something was rising within. Hanai looked at Tajima and, from his expression, deduced that the spiky-haired boy must have felt it too. The two schoolboys could only stare in astonishment as the ghosts who had been borrowing their bodies were now surfacing out.

Both Ashikaga and Teru, lips still entangled in a passionate kiss, soared high, over two meters above the ground, where they continued their sports of pleasure floating in mid-air.

Leaning forward and pulling the human's hips toward him, as to allow his member to rub against the fissure of the boy's rear, slicking the liquid that coated his flesh over the aperture, the demon entered his friend and master in one vehement thrust. Swiftly, yet carefully.

Ashikaga abruptly shut his eyes. The muscles within him contracted wildly under the demon's weight. Even his breathing was pending. It was apparent that the Nara exorcist was too reserved to moan in the presence of others. As a fox, his partner, nonetheless, could hear the moan he emitted, the moan that was airier than the air itself.

The demon encouraged the human to breathe again, but no more than that. He could not hold himself back from the desire to claim; the delicate sheen of blush that glazed that fair, unblemished skin had fuelled his passion to exploit this creature thoroughly. And the exorcist let him. The angle between his legs was widening to as far as it could get. Never mind the agonizing pain, the slithering pleasure was worth it.

The quickened pulse and the heated puffs of breath of Ashikaga against his neck were more than enough to indicate how close the boy was to the climax. While the human was having his brief moment of relief, Teru patiently waited inside without pulling out, taking delight in the shudder yielded by Ashikaga's release, until the exorcist's body sagged against his own at its completion. Afterwards, the fox demon pushed down the body and carried on his penetrations, stirring the passion within Ashikaga anew. The demon's ejaculation was a long, ample emission which took place after a series of arduously accelerated thrusts which threatened to tear up his partner's body. The tremor that the exorcist yielded as the demon drained himself within his mortal body was immeasurable. And at that precise moment, Teru wondered why he had never known that happiness could be this unadulterated.

Seeing the ghosts were doing all right without their assistance, Hanai attempted to push

Tajima away from his body. "They can carry on by themselves now; why should we do it too?"

"Sorry Hanai, I can't control…"

This answer was not unexpected. If he was having difficulty to restrain himself, what would become of Tajima? Hanai ran toward the exit, his clothes in hand.

"Wait, Hanai!" Tajima's voice was desperate, but his captain would not relent.

"Hanai!" This time, the clean-up hitter ran after his teammate and managed to catch him by the waist. "Hanai, look. Do you hate me that much?"

"I don't hate you, but this is embarrassing," Hanai struggled to free himself from Tajima's embracing arms, "You have no idea, since you didn't get the receiving end!"

Tajima would not let him go. "In that case, if I let you top me, if we switch our roles, will you do it?"

The answer "yes" was quick to escape from the baldy's mouth. Too quick to be leashed back.

"I'm glad." With that, Hanai felt two drops of warm liquid on his back. But Tajima couldn't be crying, could he?

"I love you so much that my chest hurt each time I see you. I don't know how to go on living if you hate me."

"Tajima, since when you change into a character from a soap o—," Hanai sighed as he saw his teammate's tears. "All right, I get it. I don't hate you 'kay? Just do it before I change my mind!"

With that, the Nisiura baseball team captain laid down his clothes on the floor and rested his body on it, flat on the stomach. He'd had enough with seeing Tajima's face during their previous make-out, so he settled with rear entry this time. If he didn't get to see the jocund boy again, he thought, at least the whole sex would be less embarrassing. However, this—he found out later—proved to be a miscalculation.

Tajima ghosted his fingers down Hanai's back, followed by the brush of his ravenous lips downwards. Down, down, down to the crevice between his butts. Again, Hanai felt a shiver down his spine. And Tajima discovered this, not through his moan, but through his laborious breathing.

The lips were, expectantly, mere preludes to the tongue, and the tongue, in turn, prepared the slick course for the finger. One finger then increased into two, but before the two became three, Tajima said, "Sorry Hanai, I can't hold back anymore. Let me go all the way…nngh!"

"Stop it, Ta—aah!"

Too late. The freckled boy had lowered his body to enter him. Not a gap remained between their conjoined bodies. Tajima continued going in and out of him, and all he could think about, all he could feel, was how fucking good it was when the ex-clean-up hitter's cock accessing him, pulling and pushing, mysteriously, inexplicably filling him with yearning…for more. Much though he hated to be honest with his own feeling in this matter, Hanai Azusa had no choice but let Tajima Yuuichirou conquer him whole.

Apparently, this position eased Tajima to control the accuracy of his penetrations. He found Hanai's sweet spot fairly quickly and wasted no time to focus on his target. Hanai kept his mouth locked, yet his knees bent, heels facing upwards; this was his version of telling Tajima how fucking good his thrusts were. After just a few lunges, Hanai's hips started moving up and down to meet Tajima's flesh. Embarrassed though he was, Hanai couldn't prevent his ankles from pressing Tajima's buttocks to encourage them to descend even lower, to penetrate deeper and to stay longer. And when his partner did comply, the baldy became desperate to grasp on something, to scrape the tatami, even. He needed something so badly, but did not know what it was. His breathings were really loud now. Tears were threatening to fall from the corners of his eyes again.

"Hanai, I'm here." Tajima held his hands.

It was then Hanai realized that what he had been coveting all along was not really '_something'_, but '_someone'_. "Taji…aaaahh!"

Hanai could use the ghost's possession as an excuse for what he had felt earlier, but now, what excuse could he use for this? The semen that had been lurking in wait within him now broke through, tainting his crumpled clothes and the tatami around them. In less than a minute, Tajima's semen, too, voyaged within his body.

"Tajima, you jackass! Did you have to do it inside again?!"

"Sorry," The freckled boy kissed his uke's nape, regardless of their sweats, "It felt too good to pull out. You're amazing, Hanai." Hanai still pouted, so the kiss continued to his shoulder, upper arm, armpit… "Hey, stay away from there!"

But Tajima licked it instead and would not remove himself from the site before Hanai pushed him away unceremoniously. His exploration descended to the flank and soon Hanai regretted pushing Tajima: he was even more ticklish in this area. He tried his best not to show it, but his inflating and deflating diaphragm gave the information away. Smirking, Tajima took advantage of Hanai's weakness, rolling his uke's body over, and then toppled it so that it lay supine on the floor.

"Tajima, what are you trying to…" A gasp—undeniably reluctant—broke Hanai's sentence as Tajima's hyperactive mouth coated his manhood. "For goodness' sake, we've done it thrice in a row; you sex-crazed sod!"

"But Hanai, I've always come inside of you; I want you to come inside of me."

"Well, save it for another time; I'm done for today!"

At Hanai's last sentence, Tajima's eyes twinkled. "You mean…there will be next time?"

Hanai only blushed.

But Tajima would not give up without any definite answer. He prodded and prodded. "_Nee_, Hanai?"

"Uh, yeah." Hanaia mumbled his answer while his face was growing even redder.

Tajima threw his arms around Hanai at once and kissed him on the forehead. "Yay, I love you, Hanai!"

"Yeah, I know. Just move; you're heavy!"

Tajima gave him his brightest smile and kissed him lightly on the lips before complying. They dressed in silence. But during that moment of silence, Hanai felt a strange urge to touch Tajima, to hold him, even to _cuddle_ with him. He didn't understand why; wasn't he the one who pushed the freckled boy away?

Must he tell Tajima how much he yearned for more hugs and kisses? He tried to hold on to his pride. Every passing second tortured him. At last, Hanai was at his limit, but when he opened his mouth to ask Tajima, the shorter boy beat him into it. "Hanai, can I hold your hand?"

"Uh, yeah." Hanai could only hope that Tajima did not realize this fake reluctance.

Meanwhile, Ashikaga got up from Teru's lap; they had just finished their God-knew-how-many rounds. With a wave of his hand, the fox demon restored attire onto Ashikaga's and his own bodies. Layers upon layers of fabric traversed the air, and then slung through their limbs. After they looked presentable, and Ashikaga was about to step away from his lover, Teru halted him.

"What's the matter?" asked the exorcist.

The demon spoke no word, but took the boy's hand in his own and kissed it.

Both Ashikaga and Hanai blushed. Tajima, contrarily, grinned and nudged the baldy, "Hey, Tajima, can I try that?"

"Try that on yourself!" fumed his captain, blushing even more fervidly.

Cheeks still pink, Ashikaga approached them. "Thank you for helping us."

"We didn't help you in the end, as far as I see it," replied Hanai.

"No, without such a strong bond between two hearts, we couldn't have been strong enough to carry on our own. Your strong feelings toward each other acted as nutrition that made it possible for us to reunite. Because of that, now we are able to pass on." Ashikaga explained with a smile before turning to Teru again, who had been waiting for him with open arms.

_Strong feelings toward _each other_?_ Instinctively, Tajima stole a glance at Hanai, whose face turned scarlet and was determined not to look back. This was plenty. Tajima tightened the laces of the fingers while turning his eyes at the transparent ghosts again.

Susurrant incantation of mantra purled around the two spirits' mouths as they joined their hands. Gradually, their beings dispersed into glowing particles which grew dimmer and diminished by the second.

"Aw, I thought there'd be a big light from heaven or something like that," commented Tajima after the spirits vanished entirely, "You know, like those in the movies."

But Hanai's response was: "They've gone to nirvana now; until when are you going to hold my hand, Tajima?"

###

The current, twenty-one-year-old, still cleanly-shaved headed Hanai stroke his boyfriend's short spiky hair, then his fingers traveled to caress his ex-clean-up hitter's cheeks, of which freckles had faded away along with the bygone of the years. Tajima still lay atop of him. "A lot has happened since then. Our team finally went to Koshien and, after graduation, Abe and Mihashi worked for a year in honeymoon-like cruises, got married, and now they study in Hokkaido University while we are here."

"Uh-huh." Tajima smirked meaningfully. "Are you suggesting a proposal?"

"They're already married, right? In Vegas, remember?"

"No, I mean between us."

Alarmed, Hanai rolled over so that their bodies no longer overlapping and reprimanded, "How many times do I have to tell you: College first!"

"I know. I know." His boyfriend grinned sheepishly without completely letting him go. He made Hanai return to perch above him. At first, he stroked Hanai's back soothingly and his uke did not seem to mind. After a while, his touches traveled more and more downwards.

"Hold on, just where are you touching me?" Hanai rebuked his boyfriend as he felt intense gropes on his butt.

His boyfriend only grinned and kissed him. Hard.

Sensing the lump which was not his own "_down there"_, Hanai sighed, "I've got a premonition that I won't get enough sleep tonight."

"Actually, you won't get any sleep at all." With these words, Tajima tilted Hanai's bottoms and impaled them against his throbbing erection.

OWARI


End file.
